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Long Lines for Early Voting in Florida; Bush, Kerry to Appear on Spanish Show; NAACP Faces IRS Probe; Funnyman Jamie Foxx Talks About Ray Charles Biopic
Aired October 29, 2004 - 14:26 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is LIVE FROM. I'm Kyra Phillips. Here's what's all new this half-hour.
The leader of the NAACP says an IRS investigation into the organization's tax exempt status is politically motivated. We'll talk about it with him straight ahead.
And is this where the presidential election will be decided? Why both candidates will have a giant Saturday night this weekend.
But first, here's what's happening in the news.
The U.S. chief justice on the mend. William Rehnquist released from a Washington hospital today and expected back on the bench Monday. The 80-year-old Rehnquist has thyroid cancer. He underwent a tracheotomy last weekend.
Car bombings midday in Mosul. An Iraqi civilian is killed, several other people hurt, including two U.S. soldiers. A chain of events familiar by now.
The bomb went off as a military convoy was passing by. Another bomb hit another convoy a couple of hours later, also in Mosul. Three U.S. troops were injured there.
Initial diagnosis, a blood platelet deficiency. That's what doctors in Paris are saying after examining Yasser Arafat. The Palestinian Authority president arrived there this morning, two days after failing -- falling ill, rather, in Ramallah. Arafat will get a full work-up while those close to him and the Middle East peace process wonder, what if?
Well, four days and hundreds of miles to go in the waning days of the presidential campaign. Incumbent and challenger are both entrenched in the battleground state.
New Hampshire and Ohio for Bush, Florida -- and Florida and more Florida for Kerry. And that's just today. Their travels coincide pretty closely with the map of states that are too close to call. And together, these eight offer up 104 of the 270 votes either candidate needs to be elected.
At the moment, New Mexico, Iowa, Florida and Wisconsin appear to give a slight edge to Bush. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Minnesota and New Hampshire appear to tilt slightly toward Kerry. If it turns out exactly like that on Election Day, Bush will end up with 276 electoral votes, Kerry 262.
But consider this. If Kerry wins Iowa, and everything else remains the same, he and Bush will tie at 269 votes each. The House of Representatives would then choose a winner.
Even though it's hard to hear the phrase "vote early" without mentally adding "vote often," it is a fact that thousands of people have already cast their ballots this year. That includes CNN's John Zarrella, who dragged along a crew so that he could document democracy in action. Or would that be democracy in slow motion?
There he is. Hey, John.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm here.
PHILLIPS: Talk about slow -- I think they did that effect just for the slow motion.
ZARRELLA: Was that slow motion?
PHILLIPS: That was slow motion.
ZARRELLA: Well, you know, it wasn't a snail's pace today. It was more like the tortoise. And, you know, I'm not going to be in town next Tuesday, so I had to vote early. Not often, but early.
So we got out there today to actually document exactly what it was going to be like. And quite frankly, it wasn't bad at all.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Voters came prepared. Some read newspapers filled with, what else, articles about the long lines for early voting. Others, like Red Cross employee Shantel Nishtowitz (ph), passed the time reading a book.
(on camera) Right now it's about 10 after 8. We just got here. And I guess we've got some time to read the newspaper and relax. It's going to be awhile.
(voice-over) The polls here in Broward County opened at 8:30. Already the wait from where I stood was two hours.
Gary Mazell (ph), one of my line neighbors, came with his constitutional law book, certainly appropriate. A law student, this is Mazell's (ph) fourth attempt to vote early.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Each time I have to wait too long and I have to leave, either to go to class or go somewhere else. So hopefully the fourth time is a charm.
In one respect, the wait was good.
(on camera) This is a long ballot. But at least we have time to study it. When you've got two hours.
(voice-over) By now it was approaching 9 a.m. the polls had been open half an hour, and we had moved a few times.
(on camera) From down there it's an hour?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
ZARRELLA: I got a couple of bucks. How much to switch places with me?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How much have you got?
ZARRELLA: A couple of bucks. I work for CNN. I don't have that much money.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I need a little more than a couple of bucks.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): By 9:15, the line was longer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't even know where it starts or where it ends.
ZARRELLA: Back at the end was Jan Sutton.
(on camera) Has anyone told you how long the wait is from here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, a friend told me she waited two hours. But I didn't hardly believe her.
ZARRELLA: That's a good thing. I don't think you should have believed her.
(voice-over) It was 9:35 now, and we had made to the front door. And five minutes later...
(on camera) An hour and 10 minutes after the polls opened, we're going in.
(voice-over) Inside, it took half an hour. There were 12 machines in English and two in Spanish. At 10 past 10, I walked out.
(on camera) I'm done.
(voice-over) In all, it wasn't a bad experience. And remarkably, everyone was friendly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: And let's face it, because the lines were two hours long, this is a deterrent. Anybody who votes early is certainly not going to want to vote often -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So John, who did you vote for? I just wanted...
ZARRELLA: Only you would ask me that.
PHILLIPS: I just wanted to see the slow motion reaction.
ZARRELLA: I voted for -- I voted for the winner.
PHILLIPS: Oh, very smart. OK. We'll wait and see. John Zarrella, thanks so much.
Well, John Kerry did a top 10 list on Letterman, and President Bush yucked it up at the White House correspondents' dinner. It's always worth watching when these normally stick-in-the-mud guys loosen their ties a bit. And quite possibly, the least restrained TV show on prime time cable features both candidates this weekend.
But it's not all fun and games. Watching will be an enormous and important voting demographic.
As Anderson Cooper reports, it promises to be "Gigante."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": It's part chat show, part quiz show, and part variety show. "Sabado Gigante," which means "Giant Saturday" in Spanish, is well, surreal, fun, fast-paced, frenetic and four hours long. It runs from strange segment to even stranger segment.
And this weekend it's the place the presidential candidates picked to reach out to Hispanic voters by literally speaking their language. Both George W. Bush...
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: (speaking Spanish)
COOPER: ... and John Kerry...
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: (speaking Spanish)
COOPER: Both George W. Bush and John Kerry taped interviews with "Sabado" host Don Francisco, fielding questions on family values, immigration, amnesty and religion.
DON FRANCISCO, HOST, "SABADO GIGANTE": What our candidates think about our community. We have several problems. How are they going to solve the problem if they're going to solve the problem? And on the other hand, we like to show the human part.
COOPER: "Sabado Gigante" might seem like a strange place to make your political case, a show that's all insane style and very little substance.
Host Don Francisco isn't really a host, but an actor, Mario Kreutzberger, playing a host, often sidling up on the show to some buxom beauty.
FRANCISCO: (speaking Spanish)
COOPER: But there's more to "Sabado Gigante" than meets the eye. It's the most watched Spanish language entertainment program in the country, airing on Univision, a network that reaches 98 percent of Hispanic households in the U.S. And that's what makes it must-do TV for any presidential hopeful.
FRANCISCO: The first message to my viewers is vote. Doesn't matter who you vote, but you have to vote.
COOPER: These days, savvy politicos know hard news isn't enough, so "Sabado Gigante" is the logical last stop for any candidate battling for that big bloc of voters.
FRANCISCO: I call my show like a soup that you can put more or less ingredients, but it has always a flavor.
COOPER: A flavor both candidates hope will help give them a taste of victory on November 2.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Anderson Cooper reporting for us.
Neither Bush nor Kerry gets particularly high marks from Spanish speakers on pronunciation or grammar. And a Zogby poll taken this summer indicated nearly 60 percent of Hispanic voters felt candidates don't address their issues sufficiently.
Well, shifting gears slightly right now, this country's oldest and largest civil rights group is now under the IRS magnifying glass. It's an issue dating back to the summer, and it involves the NAACP allegedly leaning too far over political party lines.
Let's got the nuts and bolts of the case from CNN's Tom Foreman -- Tom.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, all of this stems from this 29-page speech given by the NAACP chairman, Julian Bond, during their convention this summer.
During this speech, he very explicitly and by name went after the Republicans and George Bush. He accused them of bigotry, of trying to roll back all sorts of advances for African-Americans in this country and all manner of failings.
Specifically, he said, "the election this fall is a contest between two widely disparate views. One wants to march us backward through history, surrendering control of government to special interests, weakening democracy, giving religion veto power over science, curtailing civil liberties, despoiling the environment."
And then a bit later, he said, "If you don't vote, you won't count, and you'll be letting the bad guys win."
It was very clear throughout his comments that this was about the Republicans. He named them. He named George Bush. And there were many, many more things besides that that he said.
One brief comment about the Democrats not doing enough to stop them.
This is where the IRS is upset, because the IRS is saying these charity organizations, nonprofits like this, are not to pick sides. And before this speech was made, they sent out two letters to these organizations, saying be careful in election year that you don't choose sides.
Specifically, one of the letters said, "These organizations cannot become involved in any activities that may be beneficial to or detrimental to either candidate."
And that's the issue here. The IRS says this is not about free speech. This is about the taxpayer underwriting your free speech. If you are one of these organizations, which gets a tax break, they're saying you can educate the public. You can have debates. You can talk about issues, but when you start favoring one side or the other, you've stepped over the line. That's why they go for prosecution -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. We're going to talk about it more. Tom Foreman, thank you so much.
That's the accusation you heard from Tom and the potential repercussions. This is the incident at the heart of the issue, New Orleans July 15, the NAACP annual convention. Keynote speaker, Chairman Julian Bond. Did he cross the line?
It's a line that's already been crossed, or is it a line that's already been crossed and what about the timing of it all? Let's ask him.
Julian Bond, NAACP chairman, joins us live from Washington, as well as Jack Burkman, attorney and Republican strategist.
Gentlemen, it's a pleasure to have both of you with us.
JACK BURKMAN, ATTORNEY/REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Kyra, nice to see you.
JULIAN BOND, NAACP CHAIRMAN: By the way, that was Philadelphia, not New Orleans.
PHILLIPS: You know what, you're absolutely right. In Philly, and we carried it. I will get -- I'll talk to the writer about that. I'm sorry, Chairman.
Let's get right down to the speech. The IRS now reviewing the NAACP, reviewing your organization because of your speech. What did you say in July in Philly?
BOND: I said what we have said to some degree or another about many presidents since Theodore Roosevelt was president. We were founded in 1909. Roosevelt was president then. We've had arguments and face-to-face meetings with every president of the United States from Herbert Hoover through Bill Clinton. When they have done things we've liked we've applauded. When they've done things we don't like, we've let them know and let the public know.
But we've never endorsed a candidate for public office. We've never told people to vote for one party or another.
BURKMAN: They've never told them directly, Kyra, but they -- you didn't hear this kind of talk when Bill Clinton was in office. And you didn't hear this kind of talk when Jimmy Carter and Lyndon Johnson were in office.
Look, it's not just about this speech. Everyone, black and white, all races in America know that the NAACP is a political organization. It's not just the speech.
And to give you an example, Julian Bond and I are both participants in something called America's Black Forum. Every week, every other week, Julian sits as a liberal commentator. He does it a lot more than I do. I do it once in a while.
He advocates Democratic Party views. He advocates liberal views. He does it on national television almost every single week of the year. He is seated in the left-wing chair. You don't need to look to that speech to prove that this is a left wing organization.
To give you an even more concrete example, I was involved in the Maryland election of Governor Ehrlich in the year 2002 when Michael Steele, who was the first black lieutenant, a gubernatorial candidate in the history of the state, spoke before his organization. He was booed.
I mean, it's tragic that you have an organization supposedly committed to advancing black interests and not Democratic political interests. Yet when they get black Republicans, what do they do? They reject them out of hand. It's very sad.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's get...
BOND: Of course...
PHILLIPS: Let's get to the political side for a moment. I want to get to that, all right?
BOND: OK.
PHILLIPS: And talk about the politics of this all. But let's just go to the IRS for a moment and this is what the IRS says when it talks about endorsing someone for elective office.
It says, "for the organizations to remain tax-exempt under this specific section, leaders cannot make partisan comments in official organization publications or at an official function." So I guess, chairman, I want to ask you do you feel you crossed that line? Do you think the IRS is right in that you crossed that line by their standards?
BOND: Let me tell you what the IRS said to us in the letter they wrote to us. They said I had criticized President Bush's economic policies, his educational policies, and his war policies, and I plead guilty to that. I did all of those things. That's fair game.
PHILLIPS: So then do you think it's fair for the IRS...
BOND: I've never -- No, it's not fair, because I've never before heard it said that criticism and partisanship are the same thing. If you are going to say that people can't be critical of a president of the United States, half of the Americans would have their taxes audited.
BURKMAN: It's not about -- it's not about criticism. I think Julian is focusing on the part of the case that benefits him. It's about the voter mobilization things that the NAACP does. It's about all of the Democratic political activism that the NAACP does.
And look, has this organization ever been run by a Republican? I mean, the current head is a former...
BOND: Of course it has. Our former executive director, Benjamin Hooks, was a Republican appointed to the FCC by Richard Nixon.
BURKMAN: This...
BOND: One of our board members is the co-chairman of President Bush's campaign in Tennessee.
PHILLIPS: Chairman, do you think the IRS is coming after you? Do you think the IRS...
BOND: Certainly, I think they do. Here it is...
PHILLIPS: ... they're coming for political reasons?
BOND: Three weeks before the election, long before the end of the tax year when audits are always done, in an attempt to divert us from our main task, which is turning out minority voters to make sure that black voices are heard on election day.
BURKMAN: Kyra, the -- you should ask the chairman whether he does that in coordination with the Democratic Party...
BOND: No, I do not do that in coordination with the Democratic Party.
BURKMAN: ... and whether he does that in coordination with...
BOND: We don't do it in coordination with any political party.
BURKMAN: I'll tell you what the IRS should do. It needs to subpoena. If I were the IRS right now, I would move quickly on e- mails which will disappear. I would move quickly on minutes of board meetings, because you will see an awful lot of communication and correspondence...
BOND: You won't see any -- you won't see any contact between the NAACP and the Democratic or Republican or Socialist or Communist...
PHILLIPS: Chairman -- Chairman...
BOND: ... or any kind of political party. You won't see that.
PHILLIPS: You -- you've even come out, Chairman, and said someone that in the IRS is obviously trying to prevent black voters from getting out and voting. Do you think that the IRS has a political motive here?
BOND: I must think that. I mean, why else would they do this three weeks before the election, before the end of the tax year, using IRS rules and regulations that have never, ever, been enforced before? I mean, it just doesn't make sense.
PHILLIPS: Actually, Jack, it's interesting the NAACP has never been challenged before like this. That's true. That's...
BURKMAN: And frankly, it's about time. It's never too late to -- it's never...
BOND: ... provisions. No one. No one has ever been challenged under these provisions.
BURKMAN: It's never too late to enforce the law. Look, there's nonprofit fraud all over the country. And I think the Red Cross does it. I think the USO does it. I think for a lot of reasons there are a lot of organizations.
It's a growing problem in this country, masquerading as nonprofits when they're really political and business organizations that either make money or have political motives and aspirations.
When this happens, it's dangerous to the country. The loser is the American taxpayer. You can't blame the IRS for enforcing the law. The IRS can enforce the law whenever it chooses.
PHILLIPS: Jack, we've got -- we've got to wrap it up. But I want to let the chairman, just real quickly, will you do it again, Chairman? Will you come at an event sponsored by the NAACP and speak vocally about a candidate?
BOND: I'll speak critically of anybody holding public office if that person deserves criticism. We've done that since 1909, and we're going to continue to do it as long as there's need to do it.
PHILLIPS: Julian Bond, NAACP chairman, also Jack Burkman, attorney, Republican strategist, interesting conversation. Thank you both.
BOND: Thank you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, many retailers are expecting to cut back on seasonal jobs this Christmas. Coming up, a look at what's causing the cuts and what types of stores may still do some of the hiring.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. I hooked up with funny man Jamie Foxx about playing the legendary singer, Ray Charles, in the new drama, "Ray." I'll have the whole story when CNN's LIVE FROM continues.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: This just in to CNN. It's a story we've been following, and now are able to confirm the Japanese hostage that was killed in Iraq. Gou remember the Japanese civilian was taken hostage in Iraq by militants. We've now gotten word that indeed Shosei Koda has been killed. Islamic militants had threatened on Tuesday that they would kill him within 48 hours unless Japan withdrew its troops from Iraq.
Well, as you know, now, the Prime Minister Koizumi firmly ejected -- or rejected that demand, rather, saying that he would not give in to those terrorists.
Now reports say that Shosei Koda's body has been found in the city of Tikrit, Iraq.
We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: From the newspaper headline to the small screen, NBC and ABC prepare to re-create America's worst domestic terrorist attack, while Sir Elton John makes peace with Madonna.
Our entertainment correspondent, Sibila Vargas, joins me now with a round up of all the show biz headlines.
Hi, Sibila.
VARGAS: Hi, Kyra.
Well, it was a dis heard round the world when Elton John called Madonna out on her lip-syncing. Looks like Sir Elton John is ready to apologize to the Queen of Pop.
John made the comments about the material girl earlier this month while presenting the best live act award at a London music award show. The singer says, quote, "It was something I said in the heat of the moment and probably should not have said."
Well, it was just a matter of time before it happened. NBC and ABC are both developing mini series revolving around the September 11 attacks.
NBC says its project, which will take at least a year to develop, will be a miniseries that explores the circumstances surrounding the attacks. ABC is said to have been planning a similar project for months. Now both networks will rely heavily on the 9/11 commission reports -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Talk about Ray Charles. Jamie Foxx. You had a sit- down with him, right?
VARGAS: That's right. Ray hits the big screens today, and with plenty of Oscar buzz, Kyra. And I got a chance to speak to the actor about playing the role of a lifetime.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
VARGAS (voice-over): Jamie Foxx transforms himself in the biopic "Ray," but the actor confesses he initially had some reservations about playing the music legend.
JAMIE FOXX, ACTOR: Well, the first biopic, it was like, "Ray Charles, he's so nice." But Ray was like, no, I don't want to show the goody-two-shoes side of me. I want you to see -- I want you to see the controversy with the drugs and how I had to overcome.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those drugs worth losing everything?
VARGAS: Playing the role of a musician known around the world was a tall order for the former "In Living Color" star. Of course, it helped that Foxx is a classically trained pianist.
The actor put his heart and soul into the role, and even insisted on wearing a pair of prosthetics that blinded him during filming.
(on camera) You wanted to be blind during the filming. What was that like? Why was that important to you?
FOXX: Because Ray can't cheat, you know? Ray can't just take the glasses off and say, "Cut" and now be back and be able to see. So I wanted to be able to have that. For 14 hours a day, I was like that, and it was a little scary. I was a little hyperventilating at times.
VARGAS (voice-over): And his efforts have definitely paid off.
(on camera) What do you feel about all this Oscar buzz?
FOXX: It's a great thing. It's a great thing. I mean, you know, I've always felt like if you played basketball you want to go to the championship. And for this movie to do that, it would be a great thing for Ray's family and everyone involved, because we didn't dream that it was going to be like this. \
But if it comes, it's a beautiful thing. It throws you into a different category, too.
I ran into Denzel Washington in Venice. And he said, "You know, I heard -- I heard some things. You know, I've been hearing some things."
You know how he talks. Just different things. I turned around and, "Jamie, yes, good to see you."
And the thing that I got was -- was real advice and whether it happens or not, you know, at least we know we're walking in the right direction.
VARGAS (voice-over): and right now it looks like sky is the limit for this actor.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS: Also, don't count him out as far as comedy is concerned. He still plans on making them laugh.
PHILLIPS: Sibila Vargas, thank you so much. By the way, love that necklace.
VARGAS: Oh, thank you.
PHILLIPS: All right.
VARGAS: Have a great day.
PHILLIPS: See you later. Straight ahead, picking up a few extra bucks working a part-time job? A little harder this season. Coming up, why many retailers plan to keep a tight lid on Christmas hiring.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, help may be hard to find when you're out doing your holiday shopping this year. Rhonda Schaffler has the story from the New York Stock Exchange -- Rhonda.
(STOCK REPORT)
PHILLIPS: All right, Rhonda, thanks so much. Have a great weekend.
That wraps up this Friday edition of LIVE FROM. Now to take us through the next 90 minutes of political headlines, "JUDY WOODRUFF'S INSIDE POLITICS."
Hi, Judy.
JUDY WOODRUFF, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Hi, Kyra. Thanks very much.
Well, one of the most crucial states in this year's election is home to an array of political problems. Today on "INSIDE POLITICS," we're going to look at the bedlam in the Buckeye State. Plus, as the Redskins go, so goes the election? A bizarre statistical correlation that has been accurate for seven decades. It will surely have many politicos watching the gridiron this Sunday. We'll explain when INSIDE POLITICS begins in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN Center in Atlanta. "INSIDE POLITICS" is next after a look at stories now in the news.
The mystery deepens over those missing explosives in Iraq. Videotape from a U.S. news crew shows a huge supply of explosives at an al Qa Qaa compound days after the U.S. invasion. The Pentagon says it's unclear whether those were the explosives in question.
Chief Justice William Rehnquist out of Bethesda Naval Hospital. Rehnquist was released from the hospital today after undergoing surgery related to thyroid cancer. He's expected to return to the Supreme Court bench Monday.
Uncertainty grows over the health of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. A pale and weak Arafat is at a Paris hospital, where he's being treated for a blood platelet deficiency. The cause of that deficiency is unknown. A live report from Paris is just ahead on "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS."
Now straight ahead, "JUDY WOODRUFF'S INSIDE POLITICS."
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Aired October 29, 2004 - 14:26 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is LIVE FROM. I'm Kyra Phillips. Here's what's all new this half-hour.
The leader of the NAACP says an IRS investigation into the organization's tax exempt status is politically motivated. We'll talk about it with him straight ahead.
And is this where the presidential election will be decided? Why both candidates will have a giant Saturday night this weekend.
But first, here's what's happening in the news.
The U.S. chief justice on the mend. William Rehnquist released from a Washington hospital today and expected back on the bench Monday. The 80-year-old Rehnquist has thyroid cancer. He underwent a tracheotomy last weekend.
Car bombings midday in Mosul. An Iraqi civilian is killed, several other people hurt, including two U.S. soldiers. A chain of events familiar by now.
The bomb went off as a military convoy was passing by. Another bomb hit another convoy a couple of hours later, also in Mosul. Three U.S. troops were injured there.
Initial diagnosis, a blood platelet deficiency. That's what doctors in Paris are saying after examining Yasser Arafat. The Palestinian Authority president arrived there this morning, two days after failing -- falling ill, rather, in Ramallah. Arafat will get a full work-up while those close to him and the Middle East peace process wonder, what if?
Well, four days and hundreds of miles to go in the waning days of the presidential campaign. Incumbent and challenger are both entrenched in the battleground state.
New Hampshire and Ohio for Bush, Florida -- and Florida and more Florida for Kerry. And that's just today. Their travels coincide pretty closely with the map of states that are too close to call. And together, these eight offer up 104 of the 270 votes either candidate needs to be elected.
At the moment, New Mexico, Iowa, Florida and Wisconsin appear to give a slight edge to Bush. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Minnesota and New Hampshire appear to tilt slightly toward Kerry. If it turns out exactly like that on Election Day, Bush will end up with 276 electoral votes, Kerry 262.
But consider this. If Kerry wins Iowa, and everything else remains the same, he and Bush will tie at 269 votes each. The House of Representatives would then choose a winner.
Even though it's hard to hear the phrase "vote early" without mentally adding "vote often," it is a fact that thousands of people have already cast their ballots this year. That includes CNN's John Zarrella, who dragged along a crew so that he could document democracy in action. Or would that be democracy in slow motion?
There he is. Hey, John.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm here.
PHILLIPS: Talk about slow -- I think they did that effect just for the slow motion.
ZARRELLA: Was that slow motion?
PHILLIPS: That was slow motion.
ZARRELLA: Well, you know, it wasn't a snail's pace today. It was more like the tortoise. And, you know, I'm not going to be in town next Tuesday, so I had to vote early. Not often, but early.
So we got out there today to actually document exactly what it was going to be like. And quite frankly, it wasn't bad at all.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Voters came prepared. Some read newspapers filled with, what else, articles about the long lines for early voting. Others, like Red Cross employee Shantel Nishtowitz (ph), passed the time reading a book.
(on camera) Right now it's about 10 after 8. We just got here. And I guess we've got some time to read the newspaper and relax. It's going to be awhile.
(voice-over) The polls here in Broward County opened at 8:30. Already the wait from where I stood was two hours.
Gary Mazell (ph), one of my line neighbors, came with his constitutional law book, certainly appropriate. A law student, this is Mazell's (ph) fourth attempt to vote early.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Each time I have to wait too long and I have to leave, either to go to class or go somewhere else. So hopefully the fourth time is a charm.
In one respect, the wait was good.
(on camera) This is a long ballot. But at least we have time to study it. When you've got two hours.
(voice-over) By now it was approaching 9 a.m. the polls had been open half an hour, and we had moved a few times.
(on camera) From down there it's an hour?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
ZARRELLA: I got a couple of bucks. How much to switch places with me?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How much have you got?
ZARRELLA: A couple of bucks. I work for CNN. I don't have that much money.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I need a little more than a couple of bucks.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): By 9:15, the line was longer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't even know where it starts or where it ends.
ZARRELLA: Back at the end was Jan Sutton.
(on camera) Has anyone told you how long the wait is from here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, a friend told me she waited two hours. But I didn't hardly believe her.
ZARRELLA: That's a good thing. I don't think you should have believed her.
(voice-over) It was 9:35 now, and we had made to the front door. And five minutes later...
(on camera) An hour and 10 minutes after the polls opened, we're going in.
(voice-over) Inside, it took half an hour. There were 12 machines in English and two in Spanish. At 10 past 10, I walked out.
(on camera) I'm done.
(voice-over) In all, it wasn't a bad experience. And remarkably, everyone was friendly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: And let's face it, because the lines were two hours long, this is a deterrent. Anybody who votes early is certainly not going to want to vote often -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So John, who did you vote for? I just wanted...
ZARRELLA: Only you would ask me that.
PHILLIPS: I just wanted to see the slow motion reaction.
ZARRELLA: I voted for -- I voted for the winner.
PHILLIPS: Oh, very smart. OK. We'll wait and see. John Zarrella, thanks so much.
Well, John Kerry did a top 10 list on Letterman, and President Bush yucked it up at the White House correspondents' dinner. It's always worth watching when these normally stick-in-the-mud guys loosen their ties a bit. And quite possibly, the least restrained TV show on prime time cable features both candidates this weekend.
But it's not all fun and games. Watching will be an enormous and important voting demographic.
As Anderson Cooper reports, it promises to be "Gigante."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": It's part chat show, part quiz show, and part variety show. "Sabado Gigante," which means "Giant Saturday" in Spanish, is well, surreal, fun, fast-paced, frenetic and four hours long. It runs from strange segment to even stranger segment.
And this weekend it's the place the presidential candidates picked to reach out to Hispanic voters by literally speaking their language. Both George W. Bush...
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: (speaking Spanish)
COOPER: ... and John Kerry...
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: (speaking Spanish)
COOPER: Both George W. Bush and John Kerry taped interviews with "Sabado" host Don Francisco, fielding questions on family values, immigration, amnesty and religion.
DON FRANCISCO, HOST, "SABADO GIGANTE": What our candidates think about our community. We have several problems. How are they going to solve the problem if they're going to solve the problem? And on the other hand, we like to show the human part.
COOPER: "Sabado Gigante" might seem like a strange place to make your political case, a show that's all insane style and very little substance.
Host Don Francisco isn't really a host, but an actor, Mario Kreutzberger, playing a host, often sidling up on the show to some buxom beauty.
FRANCISCO: (speaking Spanish)
COOPER: But there's more to "Sabado Gigante" than meets the eye. It's the most watched Spanish language entertainment program in the country, airing on Univision, a network that reaches 98 percent of Hispanic households in the U.S. And that's what makes it must-do TV for any presidential hopeful.
FRANCISCO: The first message to my viewers is vote. Doesn't matter who you vote, but you have to vote.
COOPER: These days, savvy politicos know hard news isn't enough, so "Sabado Gigante" is the logical last stop for any candidate battling for that big bloc of voters.
FRANCISCO: I call my show like a soup that you can put more or less ingredients, but it has always a flavor.
COOPER: A flavor both candidates hope will help give them a taste of victory on November 2.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Anderson Cooper reporting for us.
Neither Bush nor Kerry gets particularly high marks from Spanish speakers on pronunciation or grammar. And a Zogby poll taken this summer indicated nearly 60 percent of Hispanic voters felt candidates don't address their issues sufficiently.
Well, shifting gears slightly right now, this country's oldest and largest civil rights group is now under the IRS magnifying glass. It's an issue dating back to the summer, and it involves the NAACP allegedly leaning too far over political party lines.
Let's got the nuts and bolts of the case from CNN's Tom Foreman -- Tom.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, all of this stems from this 29-page speech given by the NAACP chairman, Julian Bond, during their convention this summer.
During this speech, he very explicitly and by name went after the Republicans and George Bush. He accused them of bigotry, of trying to roll back all sorts of advances for African-Americans in this country and all manner of failings.
Specifically, he said, "the election this fall is a contest between two widely disparate views. One wants to march us backward through history, surrendering control of government to special interests, weakening democracy, giving religion veto power over science, curtailing civil liberties, despoiling the environment."
And then a bit later, he said, "If you don't vote, you won't count, and you'll be letting the bad guys win."
It was very clear throughout his comments that this was about the Republicans. He named them. He named George Bush. And there were many, many more things besides that that he said.
One brief comment about the Democrats not doing enough to stop them.
This is where the IRS is upset, because the IRS is saying these charity organizations, nonprofits like this, are not to pick sides. And before this speech was made, they sent out two letters to these organizations, saying be careful in election year that you don't choose sides.
Specifically, one of the letters said, "These organizations cannot become involved in any activities that may be beneficial to or detrimental to either candidate."
And that's the issue here. The IRS says this is not about free speech. This is about the taxpayer underwriting your free speech. If you are one of these organizations, which gets a tax break, they're saying you can educate the public. You can have debates. You can talk about issues, but when you start favoring one side or the other, you've stepped over the line. That's why they go for prosecution -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. We're going to talk about it more. Tom Foreman, thank you so much.
That's the accusation you heard from Tom and the potential repercussions. This is the incident at the heart of the issue, New Orleans July 15, the NAACP annual convention. Keynote speaker, Chairman Julian Bond. Did he cross the line?
It's a line that's already been crossed, or is it a line that's already been crossed and what about the timing of it all? Let's ask him.
Julian Bond, NAACP chairman, joins us live from Washington, as well as Jack Burkman, attorney and Republican strategist.
Gentlemen, it's a pleasure to have both of you with us.
JACK BURKMAN, ATTORNEY/REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Kyra, nice to see you.
JULIAN BOND, NAACP CHAIRMAN: By the way, that was Philadelphia, not New Orleans.
PHILLIPS: You know what, you're absolutely right. In Philly, and we carried it. I will get -- I'll talk to the writer about that. I'm sorry, Chairman.
Let's get right down to the speech. The IRS now reviewing the NAACP, reviewing your organization because of your speech. What did you say in July in Philly?
BOND: I said what we have said to some degree or another about many presidents since Theodore Roosevelt was president. We were founded in 1909. Roosevelt was president then. We've had arguments and face-to-face meetings with every president of the United States from Herbert Hoover through Bill Clinton. When they have done things we've liked we've applauded. When they've done things we don't like, we've let them know and let the public know.
But we've never endorsed a candidate for public office. We've never told people to vote for one party or another.
BURKMAN: They've never told them directly, Kyra, but they -- you didn't hear this kind of talk when Bill Clinton was in office. And you didn't hear this kind of talk when Jimmy Carter and Lyndon Johnson were in office.
Look, it's not just about this speech. Everyone, black and white, all races in America know that the NAACP is a political organization. It's not just the speech.
And to give you an example, Julian Bond and I are both participants in something called America's Black Forum. Every week, every other week, Julian sits as a liberal commentator. He does it a lot more than I do. I do it once in a while.
He advocates Democratic Party views. He advocates liberal views. He does it on national television almost every single week of the year. He is seated in the left-wing chair. You don't need to look to that speech to prove that this is a left wing organization.
To give you an even more concrete example, I was involved in the Maryland election of Governor Ehrlich in the year 2002 when Michael Steele, who was the first black lieutenant, a gubernatorial candidate in the history of the state, spoke before his organization. He was booed.
I mean, it's tragic that you have an organization supposedly committed to advancing black interests and not Democratic political interests. Yet when they get black Republicans, what do they do? They reject them out of hand. It's very sad.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's get...
BOND: Of course...
PHILLIPS: Let's get to the political side for a moment. I want to get to that, all right?
BOND: OK.
PHILLIPS: And talk about the politics of this all. But let's just go to the IRS for a moment and this is what the IRS says when it talks about endorsing someone for elective office.
It says, "for the organizations to remain tax-exempt under this specific section, leaders cannot make partisan comments in official organization publications or at an official function." So I guess, chairman, I want to ask you do you feel you crossed that line? Do you think the IRS is right in that you crossed that line by their standards?
BOND: Let me tell you what the IRS said to us in the letter they wrote to us. They said I had criticized President Bush's economic policies, his educational policies, and his war policies, and I plead guilty to that. I did all of those things. That's fair game.
PHILLIPS: So then do you think it's fair for the IRS...
BOND: I've never -- No, it's not fair, because I've never before heard it said that criticism and partisanship are the same thing. If you are going to say that people can't be critical of a president of the United States, half of the Americans would have their taxes audited.
BURKMAN: It's not about -- it's not about criticism. I think Julian is focusing on the part of the case that benefits him. It's about the voter mobilization things that the NAACP does. It's about all of the Democratic political activism that the NAACP does.
And look, has this organization ever been run by a Republican? I mean, the current head is a former...
BOND: Of course it has. Our former executive director, Benjamin Hooks, was a Republican appointed to the FCC by Richard Nixon.
BURKMAN: This...
BOND: One of our board members is the co-chairman of President Bush's campaign in Tennessee.
PHILLIPS: Chairman, do you think the IRS is coming after you? Do you think the IRS...
BOND: Certainly, I think they do. Here it is...
PHILLIPS: ... they're coming for political reasons?
BOND: Three weeks before the election, long before the end of the tax year when audits are always done, in an attempt to divert us from our main task, which is turning out minority voters to make sure that black voices are heard on election day.
BURKMAN: Kyra, the -- you should ask the chairman whether he does that in coordination with the Democratic Party...
BOND: No, I do not do that in coordination with the Democratic Party.
BURKMAN: ... and whether he does that in coordination with...
BOND: We don't do it in coordination with any political party.
BURKMAN: I'll tell you what the IRS should do. It needs to subpoena. If I were the IRS right now, I would move quickly on e- mails which will disappear. I would move quickly on minutes of board meetings, because you will see an awful lot of communication and correspondence...
BOND: You won't see any -- you won't see any contact between the NAACP and the Democratic or Republican or Socialist or Communist...
PHILLIPS: Chairman -- Chairman...
BOND: ... or any kind of political party. You won't see that.
PHILLIPS: You -- you've even come out, Chairman, and said someone that in the IRS is obviously trying to prevent black voters from getting out and voting. Do you think that the IRS has a political motive here?
BOND: I must think that. I mean, why else would they do this three weeks before the election, before the end of the tax year, using IRS rules and regulations that have never, ever, been enforced before? I mean, it just doesn't make sense.
PHILLIPS: Actually, Jack, it's interesting the NAACP has never been challenged before like this. That's true. That's...
BURKMAN: And frankly, it's about time. It's never too late to -- it's never...
BOND: ... provisions. No one. No one has ever been challenged under these provisions.
BURKMAN: It's never too late to enforce the law. Look, there's nonprofit fraud all over the country. And I think the Red Cross does it. I think the USO does it. I think for a lot of reasons there are a lot of organizations.
It's a growing problem in this country, masquerading as nonprofits when they're really political and business organizations that either make money or have political motives and aspirations.
When this happens, it's dangerous to the country. The loser is the American taxpayer. You can't blame the IRS for enforcing the law. The IRS can enforce the law whenever it chooses.
PHILLIPS: Jack, we've got -- we've got to wrap it up. But I want to let the chairman, just real quickly, will you do it again, Chairman? Will you come at an event sponsored by the NAACP and speak vocally about a candidate?
BOND: I'll speak critically of anybody holding public office if that person deserves criticism. We've done that since 1909, and we're going to continue to do it as long as there's need to do it.
PHILLIPS: Julian Bond, NAACP chairman, also Jack Burkman, attorney, Republican strategist, interesting conversation. Thank you both.
BOND: Thank you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, many retailers are expecting to cut back on seasonal jobs this Christmas. Coming up, a look at what's causing the cuts and what types of stores may still do some of the hiring.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. I hooked up with funny man Jamie Foxx about playing the legendary singer, Ray Charles, in the new drama, "Ray." I'll have the whole story when CNN's LIVE FROM continues.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: This just in to CNN. It's a story we've been following, and now are able to confirm the Japanese hostage that was killed in Iraq. Gou remember the Japanese civilian was taken hostage in Iraq by militants. We've now gotten word that indeed Shosei Koda has been killed. Islamic militants had threatened on Tuesday that they would kill him within 48 hours unless Japan withdrew its troops from Iraq.
Well, as you know, now, the Prime Minister Koizumi firmly ejected -- or rejected that demand, rather, saying that he would not give in to those terrorists.
Now reports say that Shosei Koda's body has been found in the city of Tikrit, Iraq.
We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: From the newspaper headline to the small screen, NBC and ABC prepare to re-create America's worst domestic terrorist attack, while Sir Elton John makes peace with Madonna.
Our entertainment correspondent, Sibila Vargas, joins me now with a round up of all the show biz headlines.
Hi, Sibila.
VARGAS: Hi, Kyra.
Well, it was a dis heard round the world when Elton John called Madonna out on her lip-syncing. Looks like Sir Elton John is ready to apologize to the Queen of Pop.
John made the comments about the material girl earlier this month while presenting the best live act award at a London music award show. The singer says, quote, "It was something I said in the heat of the moment and probably should not have said."
Well, it was just a matter of time before it happened. NBC and ABC are both developing mini series revolving around the September 11 attacks.
NBC says its project, which will take at least a year to develop, will be a miniseries that explores the circumstances surrounding the attacks. ABC is said to have been planning a similar project for months. Now both networks will rely heavily on the 9/11 commission reports -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Talk about Ray Charles. Jamie Foxx. You had a sit- down with him, right?
VARGAS: That's right. Ray hits the big screens today, and with plenty of Oscar buzz, Kyra. And I got a chance to speak to the actor about playing the role of a lifetime.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
VARGAS (voice-over): Jamie Foxx transforms himself in the biopic "Ray," but the actor confesses he initially had some reservations about playing the music legend.
JAMIE FOXX, ACTOR: Well, the first biopic, it was like, "Ray Charles, he's so nice." But Ray was like, no, I don't want to show the goody-two-shoes side of me. I want you to see -- I want you to see the controversy with the drugs and how I had to overcome.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those drugs worth losing everything?
VARGAS: Playing the role of a musician known around the world was a tall order for the former "In Living Color" star. Of course, it helped that Foxx is a classically trained pianist.
The actor put his heart and soul into the role, and even insisted on wearing a pair of prosthetics that blinded him during filming.
(on camera) You wanted to be blind during the filming. What was that like? Why was that important to you?
FOXX: Because Ray can't cheat, you know? Ray can't just take the glasses off and say, "Cut" and now be back and be able to see. So I wanted to be able to have that. For 14 hours a day, I was like that, and it was a little scary. I was a little hyperventilating at times.
VARGAS (voice-over): And his efforts have definitely paid off.
(on camera) What do you feel about all this Oscar buzz?
FOXX: It's a great thing. It's a great thing. I mean, you know, I've always felt like if you played basketball you want to go to the championship. And for this movie to do that, it would be a great thing for Ray's family and everyone involved, because we didn't dream that it was going to be like this. \
But if it comes, it's a beautiful thing. It throws you into a different category, too.
I ran into Denzel Washington in Venice. And he said, "You know, I heard -- I heard some things. You know, I've been hearing some things."
You know how he talks. Just different things. I turned around and, "Jamie, yes, good to see you."
And the thing that I got was -- was real advice and whether it happens or not, you know, at least we know we're walking in the right direction.
VARGAS (voice-over): and right now it looks like sky is the limit for this actor.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS: Also, don't count him out as far as comedy is concerned. He still plans on making them laugh.
PHILLIPS: Sibila Vargas, thank you so much. By the way, love that necklace.
VARGAS: Oh, thank you.
PHILLIPS: All right.
VARGAS: Have a great day.
PHILLIPS: See you later. Straight ahead, picking up a few extra bucks working a part-time job? A little harder this season. Coming up, why many retailers plan to keep a tight lid on Christmas hiring.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, help may be hard to find when you're out doing your holiday shopping this year. Rhonda Schaffler has the story from the New York Stock Exchange -- Rhonda.
(STOCK REPORT)
PHILLIPS: All right, Rhonda, thanks so much. Have a great weekend.
That wraps up this Friday edition of LIVE FROM. Now to take us through the next 90 minutes of political headlines, "JUDY WOODRUFF'S INSIDE POLITICS."
Hi, Judy.
JUDY WOODRUFF, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Hi, Kyra. Thanks very much.
Well, one of the most crucial states in this year's election is home to an array of political problems. Today on "INSIDE POLITICS," we're going to look at the bedlam in the Buckeye State. Plus, as the Redskins go, so goes the election? A bizarre statistical correlation that has been accurate for seven decades. It will surely have many politicos watching the gridiron this Sunday. We'll explain when INSIDE POLITICS begins in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN Center in Atlanta. "INSIDE POLITICS" is next after a look at stories now in the news.
The mystery deepens over those missing explosives in Iraq. Videotape from a U.S. news crew shows a huge supply of explosives at an al Qa Qaa compound days after the U.S. invasion. The Pentagon says it's unclear whether those were the explosives in question.
Chief Justice William Rehnquist out of Bethesda Naval Hospital. Rehnquist was released from the hospital today after undergoing surgery related to thyroid cancer. He's expected to return to the Supreme Court bench Monday.
Uncertainty grows over the health of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. A pale and weak Arafat is at a Paris hospital, where he's being treated for a blood platelet deficiency. The cause of that deficiency is unknown. A live report from Paris is just ahead on "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS."
Now straight ahead, "JUDY WOODRUFF'S INSIDE POLITICS."
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